The Magicians Season 1 Episode 12 review: Last week, the story writers stuck too close to the plot of the books the series was based on. Hence, it was safe to assume that they wouldn’t follow suit. So it happened. They took a huge break from the plot. (read: Better Call Saul S2E8 review.)
Not surprisingly, it worked well. Julia meeting Fillory with Quentin gave closure to both their plotlines after so many episodes of them despising each other. It also saved the episode from constantly jumping between the complicated plots of the Brakebills kids.
The Magicians Season 1 Episode 12 review
A lot many things took place, but the action did not feel too fast. The time travel plot got the necessary attention. Not everything worked well in the twist with Julia. And finally, we got to see Josh Hoberman. He adds a touch of amusement to the otherwise gloomy group that’s scourging the Netherlands.
The moment he starts talking about the hallucinogenic carrots, I know someone is going to eat one, namely Penny. He gets them kicked out of the library and nearly gets everyone killed by the mercenaries in the Netherlands.
Margo got a lot of moments. She’s the only one to move past the incidents and focus on the job at hand. She saves Eliot’s life by rightly ignoring Quentin’s advice to leave guns at home, and is the most logical one among all. She finally starts to take the center stage and comes out as the one person who isn’t stuck in her problems.
Despite the issue of rubbing over certain plot points too much, this episode does a good job of setting up the finale episode. Everyone and everything are in place to make an attempt on the Beast. Plus, Quentin not only meets Fillory, but he gets to do so with just the perfect person—Julia, the friend who first fell in love with the books with him.
Richard becomes successful in fixing what happened with his kid. We experience a pretty important bonding moment, and in spite of the fact that Quentin-Julia friendship hasn’t been given much footage, there is a sense of satisfaction and glee at the time they both gaze at Fillory together. We hope they get to make it up with each other a bit before the Beast takes the show.
Wait for the finale episode next week. It sure would pack a punch.